by Corey Price
Tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN for their “Super Tuesday” broadcast, the #4 Kentucky Wildcats take on the #25 Mississippi Rebels at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats are coming off a big win over #18 Vanderbilt team Saturday at Rupp, while Ole Miss lost to Arkansas at home on Saturday. Both teams are tied for the lead in their respective divisions, with UK at 5-1 atop the SEC East and Ole Miss 4-2 atop the SEC West. Here are some numbers and facts of interests headed into tonight’s game:
Kentucky Dominance Over Ole Miss
It seems to be that UK has always had Ole Miss’ number when it comes to mens’ basketball. Of UK’s 11 opponents in the SEC, their best all-time winning percentage has come against the Ole Miss Rebels. Here are the top 5 winning percentage against current SEC schools for Kentucky:
1. Ole Miss: .889 (96-12)
2. Auburn: .832 (84-17)
3. Georgia: .822 (111-24)
4. Mississippi State: .808 (84-20)
5. South Carolina: .804 (41-10)
Kentucky also has their longest win streak against a SEC opponent against the Ole Miss Rebels. Here are the top 4 longest win streaks for UK against a SEC opponent:
1. 39 Games, Mississippi (February 22nd, 1929 to February 12th, 1972)
2. 28 Games, Georgia Tech (Left The SEC After 1963-1964) (January 20th, 1941 to February 2nd, 1954)
3. 20 Games, Georgia (January 28th, 1950 to February 5th, 1966)
4. 20 Games, Tennessee (February 11th, 1950 to January 16th, 1960)
So, for 43 years, Ole Miss never defeated the Wildcats, now that’s what I call dominance. Also, the Rebels have beaten the Wildcats more than one game in a row only once ever. They defeated Kentucky 2 games in a row on February 11th, 1927 and February 27th, 1928.
February: The Month Of Winning
With the game against Ole Miss being played on February 2nd, it is UK’s first game played in the month of February this season. February is UK’s winningest month of all-time. Here are the winningest months in UK’s history:
February: 620 Wins
January: 557 Wins
December: 470 Wins
March: 279 Wins
November: 81 Wins
April: 1 Win
Freshman Duo Sensations
This season’s freshman class has never ceased to amaze and impress the Big Blue Nation as they continue to improve and lead this team to victory after victory. But there have now been a couple freshman duos from this season that have accomplished something that has never been done at UK. Here are those accomplishments:
First Freshman Duo To Score At Least 300 Points In Their Freshman Season
DeMarcus Cousins: 340 Points
John Wall: 338 Points
First Freshman Duo To Block At Least 30 Shots In Their Freshman Season
DeMarcus Cousins: 38 Blocks
Daniel Orton: 32 Blocks
Freshman Class Scoring Record In Jeopardy
With the 48 points scored by the freshmen against the Commodores, this season’s freshman class has now scored 982 points on the season. They are only 22 points away from breaking the record for most points scored by a freshman class in UK history. The current record of 1,003 points is held by the 1974-1975 freshman class.
UK’s Various Records vs. Mississippi
UK’s overall record vs. Mississippi: 96-12 (.889) (won last meeting, 9-1 last 10 meetings)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi at home: 46-2 (.958)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi at Rupp Arena: 22-1 (.957) (won last 5 meetings, 9-1 last 10 meetings)
UK’s record vs. Mississippi when both teams are ranked: 1-1 (.500) (won last meeting)
Other Various Records
UK’s overall record playing on February 2nd: 22-5 (.815)
UK’s record playing Mississippi in the month of February: 50-5 (.909) (won last 3 meetings, 8-2 last 10 meetings)
Largest crowd to attend a Kentucky/Mississippi game at Rupp Arena: 24,278 (February 22nd, 2006, Kentucky – 80 Mississippi – 40)
RPI Rankings (As Of 9:30 P.M. February 1st)
Kentucky: 7th
Kentucky’s Strength Of Schedule: 60th
Mississippi: 46th
Mississippi’s Strength Of Schedule: 75th
Pomeroy Ratings (As Of January 31st)
Kentucky: 9th
Kentucky’s Strength Of Schedule: 77th
Kentucky’s Non-Conference Strength Of Schedule: 177th
Mississippi: 42nd
Mississippi’s Strength Of Schedule: 81st
Mississippi’s Non-Conference Strength Of Schedule: 186th
Sagarin Ratings (As Of January 31st)
Kentucky: 6th
Kentucky’s Strength Of Schedule: 95th
Mississippi: 33rd
Mississippi’s Strength Of Schedule: 103rd
Kentucky In The Top 30 In Team Statistics (As Of January 31st)
Assists Per Game: T-26th (15.9)
Blocks Per Game: 7th (7.1)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: 14th (38.2%)
Field Goal Percentage: 12th (49.1%)
Rebounds Per Game: 5th (42)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: T-10th (15.1)
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: T-20th (27)
Rebound Margin: 1st (+10.1)
Scoring Margin: 8th (+16.2)
Scoring Offense: 10th (82.2)
Mississippi In The Top 30 In Team Statistics (As Of January 31st)
Blocks Per Game: T-21st (5.7)
Rebounds Per Game: T-30th (39.5)
Scoring Offense: 17th (80.9)
3 Point Field Goals Made Per Game: T-22nd (8.4)
Kentucky Players In The Top 50 In Individual Statistics (As Of January 31st)
Assists Per Game: John Wall, 2nd (6.8)
Field Goal Percentage: Patrick Patterson, 2nd (60.8%) DeMarcus Cousins, 26th (55.2%)
Rebounds Per Game: DeMarcus Cousins, T-31st (9.7)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: DeMarcus Cousins, T-13th (4.1) Patrick Patterson, T-50th (3.3)
Points Per 40 Minutes: DeMarcus Cousins, 2nd (29.9)
Turnovers Per Game: John Wall, 10th (4.1) Eric Bledsoe, 43rd (3.6)
Mississippi Players In The Top 50 In Individual Statistics (As Of January 31st)
Blocks Per Game: Reginald Buckner, 40th (2.2)
3 Point Field Goals Made Per Game: Chris Warren, T-17th (3.1)
3 Point Field Goal Percentage: Chris Warren, T-39th (40.4%)
Kentucky Individual Game Records vs. Mississippi
Points: 53, Dan Issel (2/7/1970)
Rebounds: 30, Cotton Nash (2/8/1964)
Assists: 12, Rajon Rondo (2/22/2006)
Steals: 7, Reggie Hanson (2/16/1991)
Blocks: 6, Walter McCarty (1/6/1996) Perry Stevenson (2/27/2008)
Free Throws Made: 17, Cliff Hagan (1/3/1952)
Field Goals Made: 23, Dan Issel (2/7/1970)
3 Point Field Goals Made: 6, John Pelphrey (1/16/1991) Tayshaun Prince (3/11/2001)
Mississippi Individual Game Records vs. Kentucky
Points: 47, Johnny Neumann (1/2/1971)
Rebounds: 19, Ivan Richmann (2/7/1959)
Assists: 12, Sean Tuohy (2/29/1980)
Steals: 5, Tommie Eddie (1/19/2005)
Blocks: 4, Johnnie Rogers (1/16/1999)
Free Throws Made: 15, John Stroud (2/6/1980)
Field Goals Made: 20, Johnny Neumann (1/2/1971)
3 Point Field Goals Made: 6, Joe Harvell (1/27/1
990)
Memorable Game
March 1st, 1989
UK Senior Night
Rupp Arena (Attendance: 23,022)
Kentucky – 70
Ole Miss – 69
It was Senior Night at Rupp Arena as the fans came to honor 2 homegrown kids that were also transfers. Mike Scott played his high school basketball at Greenup County High School but started his college career at Wake Forest. Walk-on Jeff Ginnan played his high school basketball at Lee County High School but started his college career at Transylvania. Jeff was only at UK for 1 season and played a total of 9 minutes for the year, but he played 5 minutes tonight against the Ole Miss Rebels in his final home game at UK. The Wildcats were 12-17 coming into the game, the Rebels were 13-12. At halftime, the Rebels led by 5 points, 34-29. Then, Ole Miss great Gerald Glass took over in the 2nd half, scoring 23 of his 35 points in the 2nd half. Ole Miss led 69-65 with 1:05 left in the game, then the Wildcats had a furious comeback and scored the game’s final 5 points in the final 47 seconds. Derrick Miller hit a jump shot with 47 seconds left to cut the lead to 69-67. Then, a freshman and a Bluegrass legend from his high school playing days at Clay County High School, Richie Farmer hit the game-winning 3 pointer, the only shot he made the entire game, with 2 seconds left to lead Kentucky to a 70-69 victory over Ole Miss. The Wildcats had 4 players score in double figures, with Chris Mills the leading scorer with 19 points, Derrick Miller had 14 points, LeRon Ellis had 12 points, and Deron Feldhaus had 10 points. Gerald Glass was the only Rebel to score in double figures with his game-high 35 points. One of Kentucky’s assistant coaches that season was none other than Jimmy Dykes, currently a broadcaster for ESPN mens’ college basketball games.
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans